There’s nothing like a Super Bowl on the horizon to bring a construc-tion project to completion.

The City of New Orleans celebrated the grand opening of its $52 million Loyola Streetcar Line on January 28, just days before Super Bowl XLVII came to town. In the five months leading up to the big game, RailWorks Track Systems worked on an expedited schedule to achieve substantial completion of the 0.8 mile double-track exten-sion by late December.

Constructing 1.94 miles of embedded track with six turnouts and one half-union junction in “The Big Easy” was no easy task. Al-though work began in October 2011, the original completion targeted for June 2012 was pushed back until early 2013.

A number of unexpected factors put the project behind from the beginning. “New Orleans is an old city, which presented a lot of unknown issues for the utility contractors. Add to that some design issues and the delayed delivery of special track work that was custom manufactured in the United States for the wide gauge track,” explains Project Manager Loren Gallo.

The original plan called for staging materials in the middle of the project area and to construct track in two directions, going south and north. “We had to abandon our original plan and coordinate on a daily basis with the utility, electric and civil contractors to gain ac-cess and then work around those areas requiring special trackwork.

TODAY

New Orleans opened its first new streetcar extension since Hurricane Katrina in late January, just prior to the Super Bowl. In addition to providing a new transportation link to connect to and within the downtown business district, the new Loyola Line has attracted more than $2 billion in new investment in and around the streetcar corridor.

New Orleans Streetcar a Game-Changer

Continued to page 2

February 2013

Project Leadership TeamLoren Gallo, Project ManagerRick Burkhart, General SuperintendentSean McCray, Project Engineer

(1) Crews installed railboot and bracing forms for pre-curved rail that connects to the half-union rail junction on Canal Street, where the new streetcar extension connects to the existing line. (2) To address wider track centers at the new half-union junction, crews installed transition rails from the existing Canal Street streetcar line to the new half-union. Track centers on the existing line are 12 feet on center. The transition rails widened the track centers to 15 feet on center. (3) Crews installed Glyptal insulating paint and electrical block-outs on a No. 4 switch on Loyola Avenue.

New Orleans Streetcar a Game-Changer from page 1

INSIDE LINE

After working a year in the Major Projects office in Sewell, this was my first field project from start-up to completion. It was abso-lutely a big learning experience. I went from preparing project documents in the office to understanding all aspects of the project. My knowledge of the documents helped me catch things before sending guys into the field.

From the beginning, we realized that the three-week look-ahead schedule had to change on a week-to-week basis. We couldn’t prep work areas or stage materials to get an assembly line going. Instead, we had to construct track from the bottom up where

we could get access, and around special trackwork areas. We progressed 200 feet here and then 200 feet in another area.

We had a dedicated and hard-working crew; many had prior ex-perience on the DART jobs. They worked in tight work areas and were flexible working around and with other contractors. They understood the process and made sure their work was correct and cleaned up before moving to other areas. As a result, we had a minimal punch list.

I learned to be prepared for the unexpected, to anticipate the best you can, and to work in the parameters you have. I also learned that while working in tight parameters, it is best to complete each activity right the first time, as it becomes increasingly difficult to correct mistakes in confined areas.

Sean McCrayProject Engineer

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A small crew built track as areas opened up, but it was an inefficient way to construct track that increased the size of the project,” said Gallo.

That approach changed last August 20 when RailWorks started an expedited schedule, working a 40-person crew 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Positive working relationships with the Regional Transit Authority, construction manager Parsons Brinkerhoff and with general contractor Archer Western, along with the affected mu-nicipalities, were critical factors in completing the more challenging sections of the track.

“We held regular meetings to coordinate installation of the half grand union at Loyola and Canal streets and where the new exten-sion connects to the existing streetcar line. Instead of four weekend

shutdowns, the City authorized a three-month shutdown and closed some streets so we could mobilize and focus on getting everything done on time,” adds Gallo.

When the Super Bowl arrived, the streetcar was ready to transport football fans and then Mardi Gras visitors who saw no signs of unfin-ished line just a few months before.

“The area looked like a war zone last fall but now the only thing you see is the trackwork. It’s as if the streetcar was always there,” says Gallo.

The new streetcar line and the promise of more revitalization is a game-changer for a city on the rebound after being crushed by a deadly hurricane just seven years ago.

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February 20133

Annual Safety Training In Full SwingCovering topics from hand tools to first aid, RailWorks Track employees across the United States and Canada are tackling annual safety training.

Sessions feature safety and team-building exercises, as well as Roadway Worker Protection training for on-track safety. The meetings encompass hands-on instruction to prepare for field activities and reinforce safe prac-tices. They include team-building exercises and breakouts for frontline supervisors and other managers.

RailWorks Executive Vice President John August champions the compa-ny’s support for safety training. His belief is that safety can’t be separat-ed from the core work RailWorks performs.

“Our business, in essence, is people working in the field in a dangerous environment,” he says. “Safety is not separate; it’s an integral part of what we do. If we’re not prepared to work safely, with quality and pro-ductivity, then we don’t have a business.”

Track regions and project sites throughout the United States and Canada are holding safety training during the first quarter. “All our meetings this year are focusing on the need for all employees to plan their work and to plan for a safe day,” notes Tammy Mathews, corporate director – Safety, Health and Environmental. “We’re focusing on thinking the day through ahead of time to make sure we have the right tools and the right knowledge.”

RAILWORKSMART RAILWORKSAFE

RAILWORKSMARTRAILWORKSAFE

Teamwork and accountability were the themes during RailWorks Track Services’ training sessions for the Chicago Region Feb. 4-8. In one activity. employees teamed up to design and build devices to launch plastic golf balls at a target. Other training focused on Roadway Worker Protection, Class 1 railroad-specific training, first aid, and updates from the Department of Transportation and Human Resources Department.

RailWorks Track Services employees in the Youngstown, Ohio, area gathered on Feb. 26 for annual Roadway Worker Protection and other safety-related training.

Employees of PNR RailWorks’ Pacific Region display their safety spikes during safety training Feb. 25, part of two weeks of training covering topics including due diligence, CN procedure training, first aid, fall protection, accident investigation, technical track training, track unit safety and more.

This is the fifth column in an ongoing series in RailWorks Today highlighting RailWorks’ Enterprise Resource Plan-ning (ERP) initiative. ERP will integrate all of our information management sys-tems into a single system that works in conjunction with standardized business processes.

February marks an exciting high point in RailWorks’ mission to inte-grate its information management systems, as key end-users take the ERP system through testing at RailWorks headquarters in New York City. Thirty-eight participants from throughout RailWorks are sched-

uled to attend the Feb. 25-March 1 session, the first of three sessions focusing on testing business processes from start to finish.

The current testing occurs on the heels of two training sessions where “super users” were trained to test most if not all modules.

Next up, the ERP implementation team will resolve any issues iden-tified in February’s testing. An additional round of user training will take place near the end of March. In early April, the second round of integrated, end-to-end business process testing will take place, again in New York.

ERP is on pace to go live in August.

Testing Critical Next Step in ERP Development

Calendar NotesSafety Training

Feb. 25-March 1 PNR RailWorks, Abbotsford, B.C.

Feb. 26-March 1 RailWorks Track Services, Youngstown, OH

March 12-14 PNR RailWorks, Cochrane, AB

March 20-22 PNR Coyle, Delson, QC

March 21 Major Projects, Tucson, AZ

March 21-22 RailWorks Track Systems, Houston, TX

March 28-29 RailWorks Track Systems, Houston, TX

April 4-5 RailWorks Track Systems, Houston, TX

April 18-19 RailWorks Track Systems, Houston, TX

March 14 Railroad Day on Capitol Hill

ERP Events

March 25 Super Users/Testers Training, Armonk NY

April 8 Integrated Test 2 (end-to-end business process testing), New York, NY

Employee Recruiting Events

March 6 McMaster University, Hamilton, ONMohawk College, Hamilton, ONConestoga College, Guelph, ON

News Across the LineRailWorks Track Systems

Houston and Galena Park employees got a dramatic change of scen-ery in early February when they moved about 15 miles away into a new, custom-built facility in Deer Park, Texas, just seven months after breaking ground.

The expansive new facility is strategically located to serve the pet-ro-chemical industry and is designed to support RailWorks’ growing operation in this region. Built on 4 acres, the complex features 9,000 square feet of office space and an adjoining shop and yard for materi-al and equipment.

Houston’s new contact information:1600 W. 13th StreetDeer Park, TX 77536Phone: 713-815-7800Fax: 713-815-7840

February 20134